That Wilhelm Furtwängler was one of the most influential conductors of the twentieth century is incontrovertible, even if the man himself was controversial. But it wasn't until I received a gift of this glorious 33-disc collection (plus a bonus CD of Furtwängler interviews, and DVD of a full production of Don Giovanni) that I learned that Furtwängler had also been a serious composer. (I recently learned the same thing about Szell, and had a chance to hear his quite good Variations on an Original Theme, written when he was about 17 or 18.) The work recorded here, the Symphony #2 in E minor is, apparently, Furtwängler's best-known work, and it has been recorded several times, both by Furtwängler and by others. Unsurprisingly, it is written in a highly charged, Romantic vein, and while it does lag a little in one or two spots, the work, on the whole, is actually quite pleasant and robust. And though long, it doesn't suffer from any "heavenly length" issues that occasionally plague some other composers (Schubert, Bruckner, and Shostakovich spring to mind). This month's clip is from the first movement.